Slow Cooked Beef Shin with Gremolata

Ingredients

• 1 kg beef shin, cut into large pieces, or left as whole pieces if preferred
• 400 ml beef stock
• 6 garlic cloves, 4 minced for braise, 2 minced for gremolata
• polenta or mashed potato, to serve
• 400 g chopped tomatoes
• 2 carrots, finely diced
• 2 celery stalks, finely diced
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• salt and black pepper
• Dressed rocket salad with shaved parmesan, to serve
• 2 onions, finely diced
• 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 400 ml full-bodied red wine
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 unwaxed lemon, zested
• 15g fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• Crusty ciabatta, to serve

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C fan. Pat the beef shin pieces dry with kitchen paper — water means steam, and steam means no browning. Season generously all over with salt and pepper before it hits the pan.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large heavy casserole over a high heat until it shimmers. Sear the beef in two or three batches, 3–4 minutes per side, until each piece has a deep mahogany crust. Don't crowd the pan — all at once and the meat steams in its own juices instead of browning, and you lose the fond that flavours the whole braise. Lift each batch out and set aside.
3. Drop the heat to medium, add the last tablespoon of oil, and fry the onion, carrot, and celery for 8 minutes until softened and catching gold at the edges. Add the 4 minced garlic cloves and stir for 30 seconds, just until fragrant — burnt garlic turns the whole pot bitter, so watch it.
4. Stir in the tomato puree and cook for 2 minutes, pressing it across the base of the pan until it darkens to brick red and smells sweet rather than raw. Pour in the red wine, scraping up every brown stuck bit from the bottom — that's pure flavour. Bring to a hard simmer for 5 minutes to cook off the alcohol.
5. Tip in the chopped tomatoes and beef stock — the stock is what breaks the tomatoes down so they taste of fruit, not tin. Stir well, then nestle the seared beef back in along with any resting juices. Tuck in the rosemary and bay. The liquid should nearly cover the meat.
6. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover tightly, and transfer to the oven. Braise for 3 to 3.5 hours, turning the meat once halfway, until a fork slides through with no resistance and the shin pulls apart in long, glossy shreds.
7. While the beef finishes, make the gremolata. Combine the chopped parsley, lemon zest, and the 2 remaining minced garlic cloves in a small bowl with a pinch of salt. Stir, then leave it to sit — it should smell sharp, green, and alive. The lemon zest and raw garlic do the cutting through; this is the acid moment for the dish.
8. Lift the casserole from the oven. Fish out the rosemary stems and bay leaves. Shred the meat back into the sauce with two forks. Taste, season, taste again — adjust now, not at the table. Spoon the beef and its sauce over soft polenta or buttery mash, crown each plate with a generous spoonful of gremolata, and put the rest on the table for people to help themselves.